May-June Project: EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING (Assessments)

Topic: Immigration

Essential Question: How can communities build solidarity and ensure equality as the population changes?


This is an outline of acceptable evidence of the understandings and skills students should have mastered during this project. To see the experiences we have planned so that students can achieve these goals, see Learning Experiences.



Performance Tasks: Symposium and press conference. Each subgroup will present briefly at the press conference:

  • a description of the issue that they have studied (the issues and problems surrounding it)
  • a rundown of the causes behind this issue
  • a prediction of how this issue, if left unchecked, would negatively affect our environment
  • a proposal for building solidarity and ensuring equality


Other Evidence (including self-assessments):
  • Objective test: immigration facts (first four bullets in “students will know” column)
  • Working in teams: Peer assessment of cooperative group work (beginning week 2)
  • Self-reflection: journaling each day (narrating the learning process)


Linking it all together There will be five separate groups working on topics that are closely related. One way to bring discussion together might be a MySpace page dedicated to the project. Here, e students and groups can record their reflections along the way, discuss issues that they encounter in the course of the project, and get feedback on ideas.
Part of the skills we want them to develop are self-reflection and communication; incorporating technology is a great way to move this skill into the 21st century.

Symposium

Each group will present its findings at the symposium. The form of presentation may vary, but each must contain the following:

  • a description of the issue that they have studied (the issues and problems surrounding it)
  • a rundown of the causes behind this issue
  • a prediction of how this issue, if left unchecked, would negatively affect our environment
  • a proposal for building solidarity and ensuring equality

Students may present this information in an art exhibit, video, music, speech, poetry, essays, stories, plays, pamphlets, or anything that will appeal to their audience.

The symposium will be composed of student presentations followed by roundtable discussions and a press conference.